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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24119233">A Trip To Remember</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SentientMango/pseuds/SentientMango'>SentientMango</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Human, Fluff, Nonbinary Character, Platonic DRLAMP - Freeform, Vacation, everyone is nonbinary, i wrote this in one day, they all go on a trip!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:16:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,462</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24119233</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SentientMango/pseuds/SentientMango</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The group of friends, Logan, Roman, Patton, Janus, Virgil, and Remus all go on a trip to a cabin in the woods that Logan spent a lot of time at as a kid.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil &amp; Creativity | Roman &amp; Logic | Logan &amp; Morality | Patton &amp; Deceit Sanders, platonic DRLAMP</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Trip To Remember</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Pronouns-<br/>Logan:They/Them<br/>Janus: He/him, they/them<br/>Patton: any and all<br/>Virgil: xe/xir<br/>Roman: they/them, fae/faer<br/>Remus: he/him, it/its, they/them</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Logan finished packing the final bag into the back of the car they had rented and closed the boot. They turned around looking to see if any of their friends were around. They spotted someone wearing a black beanie, his leather jacket was layered over an open yellow flannel, and although his back was turned, Logan knew there was a long sleeved black shirt under that. His yellow gloves and combat boots helped to cover all of his skin beside his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Janus!” Logan called, “I do believe we should be ready to go.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus looked over, “Yep!” He walked over to Logan before grinning and shooting a look up at the house that their other four roommates were in.  “Do you… or should I?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan pinched the bridge of their nose. “You don’t suppose they’ve calmed down at all do you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus shrugged, “I think the next couple of hours are going to be loud, if that’s what you're asking.” He lowered his voice, “We could just.. leave without them? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan’s mouth quirked up slightly as they attempted to hide their smile, “You know as well as I that wouldn’t work. Patton has the keys.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus grinned and he sat down under a nearby tree, “Oh well Logan, it’s your loss.” He put his hat over his eyes, “And you have to go tell them!” He called. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan huffed and mumbled something about ‘childish behavior’ under their breath as they walked back into the house. The scene that greeted them was not as chaotic as they expected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil looked anxious. Xe was wearing a black tank top tucked into a purple skirt, and choker. Xe also had fishnets which led into purple converse which were fidgeting, unable to stay still. Virgil was talking to Patton, and Logan could see Virgil’s phone was plugged in. They were sure it wasn’t low on battery, but from the look on Virgil’s face, and how they were biting xir painted nails, which were supposed to prevent that exact problem, xe was just worried about the trip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman and Remus were, well Logan wasn’t sure what they were doing, but Roman looked mildly angry and annoyed and seemed to have tackled Remus. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan cleared their throat, getting the room's attention, “Pardon me if I’m… interrupting anything,” they said, shooting a look towards Roman and Remus. Roman had already scrambled off of Remus and was pouting with crossed arms. “But the car is ready whenever we are.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman huffed, and smoothed out faer skirt. “Well I’m ready as soon as Wannabe Beetlejuice here gives me back my phone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus stuck its tongue out, “Just because I’m wearing stripes doesn’t mean anything,” Remus was indeed wearing stripes. It had black and white striped jacket on top of a fishnet top which had a low v neck, and it was tucked into short jean shorts. Remus was also wearing some sort of platform flip flops that looked impossible to walk in. Remus stuck their tongue out at Roman as they continued, “Thou Puny Clay-Brained </span>
  <em>
    <span>Side Character</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman gasped, and stood up, their long red flowy skirt mimicking their movement.  “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>you! I am not a side character!” Fae turned to Logan, “Logan! Tell Remus to give me back my phone and admit I’m the protagonist in our family.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan looked at Remus, “We are going to be stuck in a car with faer for over three hours. You will give back their phone, because I cannot deal with Roman’s incisive whining for that long.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” Roman cried as Remus laughed and handed back faer phone. Roman mumbled, “I wanted my phone back but I didn’t want to get insulted.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged, “I got it back for you didn’t I?” They turned to Patton and Virgil, “Are you two ready to depart?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil nodded and unplugged xir phone, and Logan noticed xir double and triple check xir charger was zipped in the bag. Patton, on the other hand, just gave an enthusiastic “Yes!” before skipping outside. Their light blue skirt playfully swished along with them, and in their enthusiasm, ze almost forgot zir bag, but Virgil luckily called them back before they could make it very far.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took approximately half an hour for everyone to gather and get into the car because of some disagreements about seating, but in the end everyone finally was arranged and was ready to go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The car had three rows of seats, one at the very back, surrounded by their belongings, three in the middle, and then the drivers and passengers side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan was chosen to drive because they knew the way, and also no one wanted to listen to them backseat driving for three hours. Janus took the very back seat, he said something about sinking forgotten into the shadows only to spring out at the time least expected, but everyone knew he just wanted to nap without Remus annoying him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were the two easiest, no one really cared who drove and Janus was the only one who wanted to sit in the back, but shotgun was the hardest seat to compromise on. Eventually everyone agreed to let Virgil sit there, so that xe could see everything and feel a little more in control. Patton took the very middle seat, to separate the twins a bit, and Roman sat on the right of him, and Remus on the left. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Logan was driving, they got to choose the music, but luckily their taste was the least offensive, meaning no one really disliked it, it wasn’t everyone’s favorite, but it certainly was alright, especially since Logan had made a road trip playlist with some songs of the others taste mixed in now and again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The car was far from quiet although only a few of them were talking. Janus, Virgil, and Logan were all quiet, although Logan would occasionally hum along to the music. Janus was almost definitely asleep although he would deny it later, and Virgil had his headphones on and was staring out the window. Most of the noise came from the middle row where the conversation was coming from. Roman and Remus were telling Patton all about the DND campaign they were taking part in together. Patton was listening to their enthusiasm intently, and she asked questions just at the right time to keep them both talking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan pulled into the cabin and pulled to a stop. They parked and turned around, “Alright we have arrived.” Remus and Virgil had got out of the car as soon as it stopped, and Patton followed out slowly behind Roman, and Janus slowly crept out as he stretched. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton looked up at the cabin happily, “So this is our next two weeks?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded, “Indeed. I believe it will be satisfactory to destress with. There are many activities to do around here and I believe the fresh air will do us some good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus yawned as he walked up to them, “Whatcha talkin’ about?” He said, there was a slight slur to his words which Logan chalked up to just waking up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not much Jan!” Patton said smiling brightly at Janus, “Did you have a good nap?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus hissed and glared, saying, “I was not asleep! I was trying to lull you all into a false sense of security so I could catch you off guard, but it wasn’t working.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure you were Dolos!” Roman said as they slung an arm around Janus’s shoulder, “You weren’t sleeping and I’m not the most beautiful and humble person in the world!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus rolled his eyes, and Logan opened their mouth to interrupt, but thought better of it and headed into the cabin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cabin was relatively big and although there weren’t enough bedrooms for all of them, they had known that beforehand and had already decided who would sleep where. Logan walked into the cabin to see Remus had already found their way onto the ceiling beam supports and it was hanging upside down by its knees from one of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t break anything!” Logan called before going off to find Virgil. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They found Virgil sitting on the railing on the porch looking at the flowers. Without turning around xe said, “Hey Teach, thanks for driving us here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan leant against the railing. “It is no problem Virgil. I believe we all need a change from the usual even if we don’t know it.” There was a pause, Virgil looked over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well Specs I think you’re doing just fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is not what I-” There was a high pitched scream from inside the house and Virgil and Logan made eye contact right before they heard, “You fiend! How dare you attack me without warning from the sky!” There was a cackle which could only be Remus, and then a crash. “Kiddo why did you bring your sword?” “For this exact reason familial friend! You can never be too cautious!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan sprinted into the house, “Roman you better not have broken anything! We have been here for less than ten minutes!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus was lying on the floor at sword-point but looked unharmed. Roman scoffed, “Oh ye of little faith! Remus may be a pain-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In the butt!” Remus finished and Roman shot him a dirty look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes… but I would be ever break any of their bones!” Rom grinned, “Their mind is too far gone though so I’m afraid living with me for twenty years may have already done that.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus glared and batted the sword away, “Hey!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman ignored him and continued, “And I am far too careful to break any object on accident!” As they were saying this Roman was waving their sword around. Roman talked with faer hands so it was not unusual to see faer accidentally hit their hand, someone else, spill, or break something when fae talked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus walked up behind Roman and plucked the sword from their hand. “And I am taking this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil shook xir head and whispered to Patton, “Letting fae get a sword was a very bad idea.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton just laughed, “They’re an adult! We couldn’t stop faer forever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil mumbled something along the lines of ‘maybe you couldn’t have’ as Patton clapped her hands. “Okay! So since we just got here and aren’t settled in yet I vote we unload the car, set up the beds, and see what we can do for some dinner before dark!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded, “That seems satisfactory. I packed plenty of kitchen supplies and food, so dinner shouldn’t be an issue.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wonderful.” Janus said voice thick with sarcasm, “Although you really should have left the food at home Logan, I would love to forge around in the wilderness for berries that may or may not be poisonous.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Remus said excitedly, “We could eat the squirrels! There are too many of them anyway!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton’s eyes went wide, “No! Not the squirrels! They’re so cute!” They turned to Logan, puppy eyes in full effect, “Lo? We don’t have to eat squirrels do we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed, “No we absolutely are not going to eat any squirrels. Now I think we should all unload the car and then delegate tasks out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a chorus of positive replies and the group set out to unload to their car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two hours later they were all seated around a wooden table eating a meal Patton and Janus had made. Laughter filled the wood cabin, and Roman’s booming voice they used when they told a story blended and echoed around the walls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And then I said ‘of course no disrespect.’ And just flipping walked out!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil laughed, “Damn.” Xe took a sip of water, “You well and truly owned him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course I did! No one insults my family and friends and also immediately trashes on me and gets away unscathed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that a threat or a promise?” Janus asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman shrugged, “I promise that it’s threatening.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are we going to do tomorrow?” Patton asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan’s eyes lit up, “There are several things we could do, how physical would we like to get?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was an extremely varied pool of answers. Remus and Roman wanted it to be as extreme as they could get. Virgil seemed anxious about what ‘physical’ would entail as physical usually also corresponded with danger. Janus picked at his nails through his gloves and said literally anything was fine. Patton laughed and said ze was fine with doing something physical as long as it wasn’t too hard and was fun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan thought for a moment before recommending, “Why don’t we go down to the lake? It can be as low key or high key as people want, and there are some very pretty places nearby if people would not like to participate in the lake.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus nodded, “Sounds fine to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman whispered something to Logan and when they nodded Roman’s eyes lit up, “I am in as well!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone else agreed too, and after dinner was over and cleaned up after, Patton pulled out his bag. “Does anyone want to play any games?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They played board games long into the night. In the end Patton won over all, but only by one game, Janus was hot on his tail. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman huffed as they helped pack up the games. Virgil and Logan had both gone to bed an hour ago, and Remus had left a little while ago to set up the ‘sleep prison’. It had seemed too happy about calling the couch a prision, and no one had bothered to stop it. “I don’t understand how you and Janus are so good at this!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Logan’s pretty good too!” Patton commented as they wiped down the wooden table, ready to start fresh in the morning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman pouted, “Well they left early so their score doesn’t count.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus smirked as he looked over at Roman, “You’re just mad that they still beat you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure!” Roman said, throwing faer arms in the air, “I just don’t understand it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s luck and logic!” Patton said cheerily. “So of course Logan’s going to be good at some of it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay so I can see how Pocket Protector and Mr. I-somehow-bend-luck-to-my-will can win but what about you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton laughed, as his grin seeped into his eyes as the corners crinkled, “Well kiddo it’s just a little bit of magic!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What a cop out.” Roman grumbled under their breath, as they put the last piece of the game in the box.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus smiled and grabbed Roman’s hand, “Come on, you’re just annoyed because you’re tired. Let’s go.” He turned to Patton on the way out. “Don’t let the prisoners bite!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton laughed, “Don’t worry I can handle Remus. Goodnight guys!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“See ya Pat.” Roman called before Janus wisked them away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next morning Logan woke up first, or they thought they had. Actually when they got up to make breakfast Remus was already in the kitchen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! Good morning Remus.” Logan said cautiously. There was an unspoken rule among the group that they never let either of the twins in the kitchen without a chaperone because it always ended horribly, so Logan was a bit on edge. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus turned around and looked… normal, and so did the kitchen. Logan let put a sigh of relief as Remus said, “Oh Lo Lo! Good morning! I just got up!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello Remus,” Logan said again, no longer on edge, “would you like to help me prepare breakfast?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus nodded, “Sure!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The morning passed without error, and there were no more near incidents either. Patton decided to make sandwiches for their trip later in the day while everyone cleaned up from breakfast, and then everyone left to go get dressed. Logan put on their bathing suit underneath a very practical skirt so they could easily change in and out of it, and grabbed their pair of sunglasses. They went out to the main area of the cabin to gather up the towels, and came upon Remus trying to coax Patton’s face out of its place in a pillow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry Patton, you’re right I should give you a bit more of a heads up, but I was behind the couch so don’t worry even if you hadn’t closed your eyes and tripped and fallen onto the pillow you wouldn’t have even seen anything!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton glanced up suddenly and looked out the window, “Oh no, you don’t think anyone saw you did they? I’d hate to leave a bad impression on the neighborhood.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan laughed, alerting the other two to their position in the room. “Patton I’m sorry to break it to you, but there are not people for another mile at least. There aren’t really neighbors up here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton sighed and collapsed back onto the couch, “Oh thank goodness. I’m going to go change,” they picked up some clothes and headed down towards the bathroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus arrived a few moments later, they had a sunhat on with round black sunglasses on. They had shed many of their layers, which Logan was quite relieved about, because although their friend could wear whatever they liked, three heat insulating layers isn’t exactly summer wear, and it was over an hours drive to a hospital if anyone fainted from heat stroke. Instead Janus had a thin white shirt on and a long yellow skirt which stopped just short of touching the ground and showed their black converse. As always Janus was wearing gloves and for their hat of the day, they had on a large floppy sun hat. Logan noticed in one hand they were carrying a book. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They gestured to the book, “What are you reading at the moment?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone (Especially Ourselves) by Dan Ariely. I haven’t started it yet so I can’t recommend it yet, but,” Janus turned the book over in their hands, “It certainly seems interesting.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan’s eyes lit up slightly, “Ah Dan Ariely? I have read one of his books before, and I have one of his books with me as well. I also have not read much, but the topic is fascinating.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus looked up curiously, “Oh? Which book do you have?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Predictably Irrational.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This seemed to catch them off guard because Janus burst out laughing, “Of course! I couldn’t think of a book better suited to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan smiled, “Ah well same to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus nodded, “How about we trade later this trip? Get into each other’s brains a bit and learn to understand people in general better?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan’s eyes almost seemed to twinkle with the anticipation of gaining new knowledge, “I think that would be nice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil walked in, a tee-shirt on and xir swim trunks on. Xe nodded at the three people in the room as xe sat at the table, “Sup guys.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Greetings Virgil.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus left Logan to go talk to Virgil and after a couple minutes Roman and Patton trickled back in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman was wearing a flowy crop top and a pair of loose white pants. Logan passed by Roman on the way to grab the sunscreen and asked them quickly, “Did you remember to wear your bathing suit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman glared, “Of course I did Logan! Just because I remembered my style doesn’t mean I forgot that!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton skipped over to Janus and Virgil as Roman walked over to Remus. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton was wearing a sundress with daisies on it and flip flops. She also had a sun hat on like Janus, but zers was a lot smaller than Janus’s and Patton had his tied around his head with a ribbon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Patton joined in the conversation with Janus and Virgil, Roman threw a pair of shorts at Remus. “Dude literally put some pants on.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus looked up at Roman as innocently as it could and dropped the shorts on the floor, “What? It’s just my bathing suit!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman rolled faer eyes, “That’s a speedo, they aren't the same. You can take it off as soon as we get there, but I don’t want us to pass a family on the road and to have them see,” Roman pulled a face and instead of saying anything, picked up the shorts and hit Remus over the head with it. “But do whatever you want my </span>
  <em>
    <span>dearest sibling.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman walked off and Remus cackled and said, “You know you love me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman turned around but kept walking towards the larger group. “Yeah I do, doesn’t mean you’re not a pain though.” After saying this Roman immediately tripped over the coffee table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan walked back into find Roman lying on their back laughing being helped up by a very worried looking Patton with the other three relatively close by. Remus and Janus were both laughing with Roman, and Virgil was checking the coffee table for some reason. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I leave for one minute.” Logan said disbelievingly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The walk down to the lake was surprisingly calm, it was still morning and the birds were chirping, hidden in the trees, and the occasional butterfly would flutter across their path. The first time this happened they all froze, and the butterfly wove in between them before coming to land on Patton’s dress. As soon as it realized the dress was not actually a flower it flew away, but it left Patton with a huge grin on zir face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lake was stunning when they arrived. It was a large tranquil body of water which seemed to absorb the sun to show every possible shade of blue, and reflected it at just the right points so the ripples glinted and gleamed. Right beside the lake was a sandy beach with a bench and a hammock, as well as a rack with a couple kayaks and a canoe with a sign that said, ‘free to use in the lake, just please return’. There was a small dock that almost looked new, and there was another sign that said, ‘you can dive off here, don’t worry we know you want to’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The beach didn’t extend very far, maybe a couple of meters. What met the beach was what caught Patton, Roman, and Janus’s eyes. A brilliant field of flowers with so many colors greeted them. Butterflies and bees drifted gently throughout the flowers, and occasionally a bird would swoop down curiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed and everyone turned their attention to them, their eyes were slowly scanning the lake and field alike, and they were smiling gently. “It’s just how I remember.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton reached over and squeezed Logan’s hand, “Let’s make some memories.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan glanced over at Patton, almost in a state of shock for being snapped out of their daze, but quickly what Patton had said set in, and their gaze softened. They looked up at the sky, smiling, and said, mostly to themself, “Yeah, let’s make some new memories.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus immediately tore off the shorts Roman had told him to wear and sprinted for the dock. Roman, Patton and Janus were all headed into the field and Roman was boasting about being able to make the best flower crown, which Janus immediately challenged. Virgil began to walk to the lake, and Logan decided to accompany xir. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the field there was laughter and joy, the three of them wove crowns and bracelets for each other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here Janus!” Roman said handing them a large intricate layered loop of flowers. “Unlike Patton Cake here, who accessorized, your hat is so boring, so I made that large enough to put on it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus slid the rainbow loop of flowers over their hat and smiled, “Maybe I was wrong Roman,” they said with a hum.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman scoffed, “Of course you were!” Fae thought for a moment before asking, “Wait what were you wrong about?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus rolled their eyes as they handed Patton a yellow and red bracelet, “About me being able to compete with your crown making skill, I obviously can’t, Patton’s the only one here that comes close.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman grinned widely, “I knew it! As always I admire your need for competition my friend, but you can’t be good at everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus’s eyes wandered over Roman’s shoulder as they said, “Oh of course not.” They looked back, “but we can’t all be as sharp and quick witted as you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Roman had time to think about what that meant, two wet arms hugged them from behind. Roman froze, mouth open, as cold water touched faer exposed shoulders and arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey guys!” Remus chirped. “What are you up to?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re making flower crowns!” Patton said, holding a half finished one up to show Remus.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It nodded, “Oh nice!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that moment, Roman got over the shock from being touched with Remus’s cold wet arms and turned around, their voice was half laughing in disbelief, half filled with pure murderous rage. “Oh you are so dead.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus laughed, “Guess that’s my cue to book it. Bye!” Remus began to run back to the lake. Roman was not far behind, although fae did have to take off faer clothes so Remus did get a head start.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t kill him Roman!” Janus called as Roman sprinted towards the lake, “It’s too much paperwork!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No promises!” Roman yelled back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus sprinted off the dock and cannonballed into the water. Virgil, who had been trying to swim without getting xir face or hair wet, got fully drenched as Remus hit the water. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan swam over to xir laughing, “Virgil,” they said, “I’m not sure if you're aware, but you look like you got a little wet.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil swatted some water towards Logan, “Oh really?” I actually hadn’t noticed!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a shriek from further in the lake and they saw Roman swimming furiously towards Remus who was laughing and attempting to swim away. Roman was gaining on them, not just because Remus was laughing and very clearly not attempting to swim away, but also it was a very well known fact that Roman was faster in water. It would be futile for him to try to escape them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil sighed, “Oh well I think I’m going to go hit up that hammock. I don’t really think I want to be involved in whatever that is going to be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan glanced over at the commotion a little while into the lake, “I think I would have to agree.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They left the lake and after drying off, Logan walked up the hill to meet Patton and Janus, and Virgil set xirself up in the hammock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton and Janus had pretty much gotten bored of making crowns at the point that Logan came over, and so they all decided to lie on the ground and watch the clouds. Patton, Janus and Logan were the three most interested in physiology and the brain’s bias, although Patton less so than the other two, ze really did try to understand it all though!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they were cloud watching somehow the conversation turned to moral issues, and they each took turns playing devil's advocate, although Patton preferred to call it ‘trying out a different point of view’. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After about half an hour Remus’s giddy screaming from the lake stopped, telling  everyone that Roman was finally satisfied, and the lake was safe again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were two calls from the water, “Padre!” “Aunt Patty!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton sat up and looked over, Remus was sitting on Roman’s shoulders and waving, “Come on Patton the water’s great!” Roman called.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes! It’s full of fish and their pee!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman groaned and fell backwards, making Remus fall off their shoulders, “Come on Remus, we’re trying to get Patton to join us not the other way around!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the twins argued they didn’t notice Patton had taken off her dress and was running towards the dock. “Heads up!” Patton called before he flipped off the dock and landed with a big splash in the lake. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil had been sleeping, but woke up when Patton yelled, and decided to walk over to Logan and Janus. In the lake the twins had teamed up against Patton and they were having a water fight. The three up on the hill watched as together Roman and Remus created a wave that dumped itself all over Patton’s head. Patton snorted with laughter as they wiped water out of their eyes, and then lunged at Roman.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remus, my most favorite twin, save me!” Roman cried as Patton ruffled Roman’s hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus looked at Roman solemnly, “It is my deepest regret to inform you that I play for the winning side Roman.” They splashed Roman in the face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman gasped offendedly, “After all I’ve done for you? I feel so betrayed.” Roman wrapped their legs around Remus’s, pulling them both off the lake floor sharply, making Remus lose their balance causing them to fall backwards. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Remus cackled, “Oh it’s on!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Back on the hill Logan stood up and offered a hand to Janus and Virgil, “They are going to be at that for a while, would either of you like to join me for a walk?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus took Logan’s hand and stood up, “That sounds nice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil also stood up, “Yeah, sounds good. Lead the way Teach.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan led them on a path that weaved in the woods beside a small river that connected to the lake. The path was fairly overgrown, but Logan didn’t seem bothered. While they walked Logan began telling them facts about the wildlife.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That is the Rudbeckia plant, or better known as the black-eyed-susans. It is a part of the Asteraceae family also known as the daisy family that currently includes over thirty two thousand species.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They continued to walk listening to Logan spew facts about the wilderness, until they reached a waterfall. Logan fell silent as the water cascaded over the edge above them and hit the water. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow.” Virgil said, “This is really pretty.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded, “I used to watch it for hours, until of course I found a bigger, more interesting one across the lake when I was kayaking.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus laughed, “I don’t know Logan, I’ve never seen a waterfall before, so this one definitely takes the cake.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan turned to Janus in disbelief, “You’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>seen a waterfall before?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yo Lo don’t flip out, I haven’t seen one either.” Virgil said lightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan was clearly processing the information, but from how furrowed their eyebrows were someone who didn’t know them might think they were mad. “Okay,” they said after a while, “Well this is nothing compared to the other one. We should get back and eat lunch, so I can take all of you to the waterfall.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil and Janus shared a look as Logan began to walk back, mumbling to themself. “I wonder if the others have seen one. I knew they all lived in the city for most of their lives but this is crazy. Good thing I-” Logan trailed off as they walked back to the field with purpose. Virgil and Janus almost had to run to keep up with them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they arrived back in the field, Patton, Roman, and Remus were all out of the water and Roman and Patton were back in their clothes. As Logan, Virgil, and Janus approached them, Patton waved, “Hi! We were just about to get lunch ready, does that sound good to you three?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded, “Absolutely,” and they went off to help Patton, and probably tell them all about the waterfall incident. Janus and Virgil sat down near Roman and Remus, and started to tell them about the waterfalls too. The twins had seen a few waterfalls before, but only small ones, so they both got excited.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After lunch everyone beside Janus went down to the docks to set up the boats. Patton was the first to realize Janus wasn’t with them, he walked back up the hill and sat beside Janus who was playing with the cover of their book. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Jan.” Patton said, “Why are you up here kiddo?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus looked over at Patton, and smiled softly, “Patton, you know I don’t swim.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton shrugged, “I don’t see what that has to do with anything! I don’t think any of us are planning on swimming.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know that Patton, but there’s a chance the boat can capsize, and I’m not prepared to save myself in a situation like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patton’s eyes lit up, “Oh well if that’s all that’s stopping you, Logan has life jackets!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus looked up, and stopped playing with the book, “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep! I mean no pressure, but I know we’d all love you to join us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus stood up, and nodded slowly, and offered Patton a hand, “I think I will in that case.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If anything happens to the boat I promise you’ll be the first I think of!” Patton said, putting a hand over zir heart. Janus laughed, but they couldn’t deny that the thought did help to ease their nerves slightly. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Patton said, “If you want you can leave your book in the bag Logan brought!” Patton pointed to a bag with a handful of towels, the lunch containers, and sunscreen bottles in. “You know, just in case!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus nodded, “You’re right Patton, anyway I haven’t read it all day, I don’t know why I bothered to bring it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They got to the docks where Logan was coaching Roman and Remus on how to properly propel a kayak. They were all wearing life jackets, and as soon as they approached Logan looked up and said, “Ah good, Virgil can help you two get life vests on, and then I can make sure you all know how to use the canoe before we set off.” As they walked over to Virgil they heard Logan yell, “Remus don’t hit Roman with your paddle!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon they were off. Janus was sitting in the middle of a canoe with their skirt pulled up, so it wouldn’t touch the bottom which was damp with old water. Through their tights they could feel the gentle wind over the lake hitting their legs. Patton was sitting behind them rowing on the left, and Virgil in front on the right. Janus had an ore, but because they wanted to go straight, it was easier if they didn’t row. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Roman and Remus were quite far away from the canoe, exploring some divots in the cliff faces and yelling about the fish they spotted. Logan was only a couple strokes in front of them in their kayak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As a school of fish passed under the boat Patton gasped in wonder, they were so small. Logan began to talk about what kind of fish they were and before they knew it the boat ride was over. After Janus had thanked Patton for convincing them to come, everyone fell quiet and noticed the sound of rushing water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan looked around at everyone’s faces full of anticipation, and smiled. “Come on, it’s not far.” Logan began to walk into the brush and everyone quickly followed behind them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The waterfall was huge. Water spilled over the edge of a cliff fifty feet above them. Stray from the water misted the air and Roman was the first to notice. “There’s a rainbow.” Fae said, faer voice was almost a whisper, but even over the roaring of the water hitting stone, everyone heard and turned to look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Janus and Virgil were both stunned silent. After only seeing pictures of waterfalls and then the small ten foot one from earlier, this was overwhelmingly large. The sun glinted off the clear water, and made the water, which was white as it collided with rocks and branches, gleam. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Logan walked down from where they were toward the waterfall. Remus began to follow, but stopped when no one else did. Logan turned around, “Are you all just going to stand there or do you want to get a better look? I’ll show you the best view. It took me years to find.” Logan looked over at Virgil, “I also have a hiding place I used a lot if anyone would be interested in seeing that one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They spent the rest of the day exploring the waterfall and the area around it. Remus found a very dark cave, which Virgil had to drag him away from because “I am not going to canoe back with a dead body.” Roman and Janus climbed up to the top and sat beside the river, far enough away from the edge to satisfy Virgil. Logan showed Virgil a place they used to use to own everyone at hide and seek, it was behind the waterfall, there was a curtain of vines that lead to a little concave in the cliff, and if you didn’t mind a few spiders it was very peaceful. Logan also showed Patton their favorite spot, it was up in a tree, and from up there was an amazing view of the waterfall and if you knew where you were going you could climb so you had a clear view of a birds nest a couple trees over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the sun set everyone gathered back at the shore so they could get back to the cabin. As they rowed back, Roman started humming Be Wherever You Are from Steven Universe and Patton overheard them and joined in. It didn’t take long for the whole group, even Logan to be singing along. As soon as the song ended someone would just pick up with another song, and everyone would pipe in again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It felt like no time before they got back to the cabin. Roman and Patton got started with making some dinner, and everyone else got busy with other things around the house, like putting away what they brought with them, or setting the table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fifteen minutes later the group sat around the table reflecting on what a day they’d had. Patton gushed about some adorable bunnies and other small creatures they’d seen, and Logan jumped in occasionally with some facts about those creatures, or to help Patton with a word now and again. Janus and Roman talked about a small water snake and some tadpoles that had been in the river. Remus told everyone about the raccoon in the cave, and laughed as Virgil buried xir head in xir hands and mumbled something about Remus being too reckless for xir to take. Virgil smiled fondly as xe talked about the spiders in the cave, as xe described them, Patton rubbed his hands up and down his arms and over his neck like he could feel the spiders. Roman and Remus shared a look and without saying anything Remus hit Virgil gently in the arm to get xir to shut up about the spiders, and Roman changed the subject. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the evening was filled with laughter and good spirits, mirroring the day before it. It was going to be a good vacation. They all knew it. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! Please if you enjoyed leave kudos and write a comment! I enjoy hearing from you all! </p><p>Come talk to me on tumblr- @thesentientmango</p></blockquote></div></div>
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